Adjustable displacement meter or pump



April 18, 1939. R. T. KNAPP 2,154,458

ADJUSTABLE DISPLACEMENT METER OR PUMP Filed Oct. 12, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet1 INVENTOR Roberf TKnap a BY Mn. M

ATTORNEY April 18, 1939. R. T. KNAPP ADJUSTABLE DISPLACEMENT METER ORPUMP Filed Oct. 12, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Robe/"r T KnappATTORNEYS April-'18, 1939.

DISCHARGE R. T. KNAPP 2,154,458 ADJUSTABLE DISPLACEMENT METER OR PUMPFiled Oct. 12, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ,0 0 Egg- I I I" I3 R is; 8 '7 '141 h- 2 8 2s INVENTOR Robe/"2 T Kna ATI'O R N EYS April 18, 1939.

R. T. KNAPP ADJUSTABLE DIS PLACEMENT METER OR PUMP Filed Oct. 12, 1937 4Sheets-Sheet 4 [Q I Z; 59" 12 OR Robert 7. Km: m/

ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Robert T.Knapp, Pasadena, Calif., assignor thirty-three'and one-third l0! cent toIndolph A. Rick and thirty-three and one-third pet soles, Calif,Application October 12, 19:1, Serial no. 1st,: 12 Claims. (Cl. lea-13s)through a narrow range to adjust the machine for accurate metering use.I

The invention is particularly directed to that type of rotary machinewhich embodies a rotor member mounted within a concentric rotor chamheror stator provided with coactingly shaped end walls disposed at theopposite axial ends I said rotor and defining vane-guiding cams, d vanemembers mounted on said rotor and extending transversely with respect toa plane of rotation thereofin engagement with both of said guiding cams,said vane members being slidably mounted on said rotor for laterallyreciprocating motion, that is, for motion in a direction transverse to aplane of rotation of the rotor. is applicable in general to thestructures described in my issued Patent No. 2,020,611 and in mycopending applications Serial Nos. 123,237

and 135,246, filed January 30, 1937, and April 6,

1937, respectively, as-well as to structures embodying rectangularvanes, instead of trapezoidal vanes as specifically described in myabove-mentioned-patent and patent applications.

The vane members are carried within suitable sl po r gant objects of theinvention is to provide secondary displacement or pump .means withinsuchslots, together with means for varying the displacement thereof toprovide for minor variations in the volumetric capacity of the rotarymachine per revolution. 2

A further object of the invention is to provide a variable capacity,positive fluid displacement rotary machine adapted primarily formetering Purposes, which may be employed in the role of a metering pumpdevice adapted for operation at relatively high capacities andpressures, which will discharge a measured quantity of fiuid perrevolution, andwhich is readily adjustable within a suificient range toprovide for accurate metering of different types of fiuid or underdifferent operating conditions.

It will readily be appreciated that any fluid metering device isrequired to be adjustable within a minor range so'that accurate meteringof any particular fiuid under a particular set of operating conditionsmaybe establishedf This is particularly true in view of the fact that itis commercially impossible to produce meters or] The invention in therotor member, and one of the imt e ein:

comparable mechanical devices which are so accurately machinedthat theywill have a prescribed volumetric capacity per revolution, in

view of manufacturing tolerances which are nec- I essary. Furthermore.due to the difierences in compressibility of various liquids, it isfrequently necessary to adjust a metering .device whenever there is"change in operating pressures or where the device is used on-adiflerent-liquid from that for which .it was originally adjusted.

Other objects of the invention will be brought out in the ensuingdescription of certain embodiments thereof, or will be apparent fromsuch description. The accompanyingdrawings illustrate such embodimentsand referring thereto:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a device acmay be employedfor-thedevice;

2, 3, and 4 represent the two cam plates and .the rotor assembly, the.rotor assembly being shown in plan view and the.cam plates being turnedoutwardly therefrom and shown in correlated perspective;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of a rotor member embodying the presentinvention, adapted to be incorporated in the rotary machine shown inFig. 1; u I

Fig. 6 is a transverse partly sectional view thereof, taken on line 0-8in Fig. 5;

Fig. I is a transverse section taken on line 1-1 in Big. 5; I

Fig. 8 is a view eorresponding to Fig. 5,'showing an alternativeembodiment of the invention;

Fig. 9 is, a view corresponding to Figs. 5 and 8, showing a furtherembodiment of the invention;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary transverse section thereof, taken on lineil-lll in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a transverse section of ameterlng machine to the presentinvention, embodying a further modification of the device;

Fig. 12 ms longitudinal section of the form of device shown in Fig. 11,taken on line l2l2 Fig. 18 is a large scale face view of one of thevane'members employed in the present device, showing'the manner in whicha variation of the slot capacity operates to v'ary the volumetriccapacity of the machine per revolution;

Fig. 11; is' a 'vi'ew' corresponding generally to Fig. 13, illustratingthe construction and operation of one particular modification of theinven- Flg. i5 .is a partly atic view corre- 'cording to thevpresentinvention, showing'the v construction of a form of stator portion whichsponding to a transverse section of the form of rotor structureillustrated in Fig. 14; and

Fig. 16 is a partly broken away longitudinal section of a single-ended"meter structure, in which the variable displacement feature of thisinvention is incorporated.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 through 4, the rotary device of thepresent invention may comprise a-rotor I mounted on a shaft 2 anddisposed within a concentric housing 3 provided with end plates 4 and 5carrying suitable bearings such as shown at 6 and l for support of theshaft 2. The rotor I is provided with a plurality of vanes 8 slidablydisposed within suitable longitudinal slots 9 in the rotor I in suchmanner as to extend transversely with respect to a plane of rotation ofsaid rotor I. The respective end plates 4 and I each carry a cam plateas shown at II and I2. The cams II and I2 are circular in shape andserve as vane guiding cams; the faces II' and I2 of these cams are ofsuch a shape as may be generated by the lateral limits of a planesurface which is rotated about the axis of rotation of the shaft 2, saidgenerating plane being moved longitudinally of the shaft 2 and in itsown plane during: its rotation about said axis so that one or morecomplete reciprocations are eflected in one rotation of 360.

As taught in the above-mentioned issued patent and the copending patentapplications, the cam faces may advantageously be substantially of suchshape as would be generated by the outwardly converging lateral edges ofa plane surface of trapezoidal shape rotated about a line parallel tothe axis of rotation of the shaft 2 and reciprocated axially. Thisparticular design of the cams is preferably only, and as described inthe above-mentioned issued patent the vanes themselves may be of any oneof several diflerent shapes, either in the suggested form of symmetricaltrapezoid as specifically illustrated herein, or with the edge portionscurved concavely or convexly after the manner shown in Figs. 14 and 15of the above-mentioned issued patent. principles of the presentinvention apply equally well to constructions employing any one of theabove-described types of vanes, as well as to constructions in which theaxial ends of the vanes are parallel with one another. Similarly, the

vanes may be so mounted in the rotor member.

as to have a substantially axial longitudinal movement, as in thespecific forms herein delineated, or as to have a longitudinal movementat an angle to the axis of the rotor, as in the form shown in Fig. 13 ofPatent No. 2,020,611. Likewise, as in the present described form, thevanes may extend radially outwardly within the rotor, or at an angle toa radius, as shown in Fig. 12 of said issued patent. Furthermore, theinvention is applicable to single-ended pump structures employingaxially reciprocable vane elements, such as shown in United StatesReissue Patent No. 19,783, dated December 3, 1935. Combinations of theseconstructions are also within the contemplation of this invention, aswill be apparent to one skilled in the art, and this invention isdirected primarily to the construction of the slots in the rotor withinwhich the vane is ,vanes 2 may bear.

The

section of the space between them taken upon a plane containing thegenerating trapezoid is substantially identical in shape with allsimilarly taken cross-sections, the axial distance between 'and sealingfaces for the lateral edges to and 8b of the vanes l, and an outerguiding and sealing face I! is provided on the housing 3 against whichthe outer or peripheral edges 8c of the The outer face I3 is preferablycylindrical in shape and may be provided by means of an annulus I4having a press fit within the housing I, and the inner diameter of theannulus I4 is preferably only slightly greater than the outer diameterof the rotor I, so as to provide a minimum clearance between said rotorand the face II, whereby cross-circulation of fluid between thedisplacement spaces or chambers of the respective axial ends of therotor is substantially prevented. The sealing and guiding surfaces II,I2 and I3 serve to define and enclose a rotor chamber within which therotor I is mounted.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 through 4, the rotor I is shownas comprising a main body portion Ia of such diameter as to provide arunning fit with the surface I3 of the annulus II, and hub portions Ibofreduced diameter projecting laterally at the respective ends of said boportion. The main body Ia of the rotor is m ed as two oppositelydisposed truncated cones spaced by an intermediate cylindrical portionwhich constitutes the outside diameter of the rotor and, as above setforth, fits closely within the annulus I4. The angle whichthe conicalfaces make with the axis of the rotor preferably conforms to the angleof inclination of the cam faces II' and I2 and to the angle which thevane edges 80 and lb make with the edge to as is illustrated in Figs.

1 and 12. This is a structurally preferable but not a necessary featureof the construction, particularly where the device is employed forhandling a substantially incompressible fluid. The slots 9 are formedin,the body portion and 'hub portions of the rotor I, and serve tosupport the vanes in their desired positions and cause the same torotate with the rotor, while permitting free reciprocation of the vanesunder'the influence of the guiding cams. The rotor I cooperates with theguiding and sealing surfaces II, I2, and II to define separatedisplacement chambers at the respective ends of the rotor body portionla.

The housing 3 is provided with an inlet I5 and an outlet I6 whichcommunicate respectively with inlet passage I1 and outlet passage I 8arranged of the annulus. The respective passages I1 and I. are providedwith portions which extend laterally outwardly of the annulus It forcommunication with certaininlet and discharge ports in the device, ashereinafter described. The cam plates II and I2 are provided with one ormore inlet ports I 9 and II, respectively, which ports.

communicate with the above-mentioned laterally .along the innerperiphery of housing I exteriorly J 2,154,458 extending portiom of theinlet passage i! (said proiectingportions being indicated at no andl'lb),and with one or more discharge ports 22 and 23, which communicatewith the laterally portions Ila and llb, respectively, of

municate to the interior of the device, that is,

to the fluid displacement chambers at the respective axial sides of therotor I, through circumferentially elongated passages in the'cam plates,opening throughthe cam faces II and I2, as indicated at 24, 25, 26, and21, said passages 24 through 21. being preferably inclined in a spiralform so that the lateral edges to and lb of the vanes 8' will besubjected to uniform wear in passing over these passages. Theabove-described arrangement of ports is given by way of example only,inasmuch as such ports will depend upon the use to 'which the device isto be put.

From the above description it will be seen that the cam faces II and i2may be formed upon the end plates 4 ands, but it will also be apparentthat where important wear-resisting qualities are desired in the camfaces under particularly severe operating conditions, for example, thestructure may alternatively be formed separate ring-shapedelements iiand I2 hav-'" ing inner ends of small diameter such that they may setwithin the annulus l4, and outer ends of somewhat increased diameter soas to abut against the lateral ends of said annulus I l. The

respective end plates 4 and I may thus be caused to bear directlyagainst the separate members I I and I2 which carry the cam faces II andI2, firmly holding said members in fixed relation with respect to thehousing 3. Suitable dowel members may be provided, as will be apparentto one skilled in the art, whereby the respective-cam faces are placedin the desired orientationwithrespect to one another and with'respect tothe inlet and outlet passages l1 and II. The inner diameter of themembers II and I2 which provide the faces II and I2 is preferably suchas to have a relatively small clearance with the hub portions lb of therotor I. The enlarged outer ends of the end plates 4 and 8 arepreferably recessed as at 20 adjacent the inlet and dis charge ports, sothat free flow of fluid between said ports and the respective inlet andoutlet passages is provid d I In the above description, the casing orhousing 3 is set'forth as provided with respective inlet or outletpassage means such as shown at I! through. II. It will be realized thatthe respective passages may be reversed in function so that the inlet lserves as an outlet, depending upon the direction of rotation of theshaft or rotor l. I have, however, illustrated for convenienceindescription a specific direction of rotation by arrows in Figs. 1. 3, 6,11, and 12.

While the specific design of the cam faces Ii pertinent hereto).

and I2 is not of particular moment in connection with the .presentdisclosed features of the device, and is obviously subject to wide,variation, it may be said that in one common form these cam faces may,roughly be divided into 90 quadrants, as may be visualized from Figs. 2and 4 (these quadrants actually depart from 90 in the actualconstruction, as set forth in Serial No. 135,246, for certain reasonswhich are not Referring more particularly to Fig. 2; for the purpose ofdescription, these quadrants may be visualized as extending respectivelybetween the four points indicated at A, B, C, and D. The quadrant A-B'will illustrate an inlet quadrant for the displacement chamber definedbetween the cam face II and the adjacent inclined face or side wall ofthe rotor l (assuming the delineated direction of rotation). The. axialseparation between the cam face II and the adjacent inclined face of therotor thus increases from the point A to the point B, and the incomingfluid will flow freely into-the displacement chambers defined betweenthe-vanes E and F (see Fig. 3) through the slot 24. The vane F is insealing engagement with the surface between the points B and C, and thepressure of the incoming fluid will be applied against the exposed faceof said vane, causing a rotation of the rotor. The displacement chamberbetween the vane E and the point A will also be filled with the incomingfiuid, and when the vane E reaches the point B, sealing oi! the end ofthe slot 24, the fluid pressure will be applied to the vane E, and thevane F will have reached.

the point C, whereupon the fiuid between the vanes E and P will start todischarge from the device through the slot 28. The quadrant C-D isreversed inslope to the quadrant A-B, and the axial separation of theface II from the rotor gradually diminishes to the clearance value atthe point D. The discharge of fluid from the displacement chamberbetween the vanes E and F continues until the vane E has reached thepoint D, at which time the vane F is substantially in position to passthe point A, whereupon the volume of the space between the vanes E andI" will again begin to increase and allow inflow of a further quantityof fluid. It will be appreciated that the same operations as abovedescribed will take place between each pair of vanes, during rotation ofthe device, and that the operation of the opposite end of the device isentirely comparable, the fluid flowing into the right hand side of thedevice through the slot 25, and discharged through the slot'2'l.

Suitable passages 18 are provided in the hub portion lb of the rotor l,preferably at positions closely adjacent the intersection of the conicalside walls of the body portion la or the rotor with said hub portion lb,said passages opening at their outer ends through the periphery of therespective hub portions and communicating at their inner ends with theslots 9 inwardly of the vanes I. The passages 3b are provided at eachsideor end of the rotor body In (in a doubleended construction), and maybe disposed adjacent the entering or leading face of the respectivevanes, so as to place the respective end portions of a particular slotin fiuid communication with the fluid displacement chamber which is inadvance of the position of a particular vane so that the volumetriccapacity of the respective ends of the slot is included in thevolumetric capacity of the respective adjacent displacement chamber. Thepassages 35 may alternatively be if desired, with equal results. Ingeneral, I find it desirable to be consistent in the placementthereof,sothatallthepassageswillbeadja cent either the entering ortrailing face of each blade or vane. I

As an alternative to the provision of passages 38 in the rotor itself, Imay provide cut-away corner portions for the vanes, as shown at 80inFigs. and 13 in the aforementioned copending application Serial No.123,237, or provide passages within the vane structure, as shown'at I!in Fig. 13in said application.

' centrifugal force.

vrotor.

above described is considered desirable only where.

In view of the fact that during rotation the vanes will be forcedoutwardly against the surfaces ll', l2", and it, thus providing aclearance between the inner edge 4d of the vane and the' the vane bodyand is of such thickness as to have a minimum side clearance within theslot 9. The member 42 is preferably maintained in place within and inengagement with the bottom of the slot 8 through the agency of one ormore spring members 43 positioned to bear against the outer edge of themember 42 and against the inner edge of the slot 4i in order to overcomethe effect of Suitable guide pins or the like may be provided as at 44for the purpose of ltliialntaining the springs 43in their desired posi-For the purpose of providing an outward pressure against the centralportion of the inward edge of the vanes 8 to counterbalance the radiallyinward pressure on the central portion of the outward edge 4c of saidvanes, and for producing a radially inward pressure on the member 42against the bottom of the slot 9 and to oppose any outward pressurewhich may be communicated thereto through the slot 9 beneath the edge 8dof the vanes from one side or the other,

I may provide means for applying the same pressure to the space betweenthe outer edge of the member 42 and the outer edge of the notch 4i as ispresent at the periphery of the body portion la of the rotor I. For thispurpose I may provide a passage 46 within the rotor extending from theperiphery of said rotor body portion and communicating with theaforesaid space. The position of the passages 45 with respect to therotor and the vanes is clearly shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 13, wherein itwill be seen that the passages open at the periphery of the rotor at themedial plane of the rotor. It will be appreciated that this position ofthe passage corresponds to the averat the opposite sides of the rotor,which is preferable for the proper operation of the device where thecounterbalancing passage is provided in the The provision of passagemeans 45 as the device is to be operated in the role of a metering"pump, where significant differences 'in pressure exist between the inletand outlet. In

8,154,458 disposed adjacent the trailing face oi the vanes.

wherefore such pressure counterbalancing means are superfluous.

Each slot 8 is of sufficient length to accommoother, even though thevane undergoes considerable outward movement due to wear on the edges8a., 8b, and 8c. The cam plates II and i2 overlap the end portions ofthese slots to varying degrees at one or both ends (according to therotative position of any particular slot with respect to the cam faces).The clearance spaces thus formed at the ends of the slots (as shown forexample at to in Fig. 13) will expand or contract, dependent uponwhether the vane is moving away from or toward the respective end wallof the particular slot. It willbe observed that in the constructionherein shown the passages 35 permit free interflow of fluid between thedisplacement chambers and the aforesaid clearance spaces at a positioninwardly of the inward edge 8d of the vanes 8, thus eliminating thetrapping of fluid in these spaces and thereby eliminating mechanicaldrag on the device from this source,

without detracting from the volumetric efllciency thereof.

According to the present invention the desired adjustment of thevolumetric capacity of the device is secured through a quantitativecontrol of the interflow of fluid between the displacement chambers andthe aforesaid clearance spaces, as by the provision of means for forcinga greater or lesser quantity of fluid from such clearance spaces intothe associated displacement chamber, whereby a controlled contributionto the effective volumetric capacity ofthe principal displacementchambers by certain secondary displace- !iient chambers provided bymeans of said clearstroke thereof at a constant value, instead of thecustomary provision of means for varying the pumping stroke, as employedin the conventional variable displacement reciprocating pump.

The desired adjustment of the volumetric capacity of the device perrevolution may be .ob-

tained by varying the effective depth of one ormore of the slots 8.Referring particularly to Fig. 13, a vane I is shown at its ultimatelefthand position, and as the vane moves toward the right in thedirection of the arrow R the space 9a at the right-hand end of the slot9 becomes, in effect, a small displacement chamber with the portion ofthe vane from the inner edge 8d to the outer edge of the slot plus theportion of the member 42 (which functionsas a piston, and will behereinafter referred to as a piston member") from the bottom of the slotto said inner edge of the vane constituting a piston head which willforce a portion of the fluid entrapped within the space so outwardlythereof through the passage 35'. In this particular flgure, the vane hasjust passed to its left -hand position so that the lefthand end of thevane plus the left-hand exposed end of the piston member 42 has forcedthe maximum amount of fluid out of the left-hand end ad of the slot 8into the space 48 in advance of said vane. At this position, the space46 is at its maximum volume, at the termination of an intake" movementof the device at its left side, and the total volume of the fluid undertreatment is that of the space 4| plus that of the end of the slot 5. Asthat particular portion of the device is moved around the device tocause a discharge of the fluid, the vane will move in the direction ofthe arrow R, increasingthe volume of the space is at the left end of theslot, and thus causing a decrease in the amount of fluid which would bedischarged from the device through the discharge ports. It will be seenthat where it is desired to increase the capacity of the device, it ismerely necessary to decrease the depth of the slot 9;

- so that less fluid will be drawn into the slot space so during thedischarge of fluid from the corresponding displacement chamber, and,similarly,

pacity of the device, it is merely necessary to increase the depth ofthe slot. The springs 43 serve to keep the piston member 42 in contactwith the bottom of the slot 9, as above brought out, and the members 42are preferably made of somewhat greater outward length than the maximumdepth of the slots, so that the desired pumping action will bemaintained at the maximum inward position of the bottom of theJslot,even though the vanes should wear to the extent that the inner edges 8dthereof practically reach the outer edges of the slots.

Inasmuch as the eifective area of the pumping piston operating in eachclearancespace is made up of the area of the end of that portion of thevane which projects inwardly of the slot plus the area of the exposed orinwardly projecting portion of the end of the member 42 which moves withsuch vane, such 'efl'ective area will remain constant (with one setting"of the device) independent of the wear of the vanes and the consequentoutward movement thereof, for the simple reason that as the pistoneifect of the vane decreases, the piston effect of the member 42increases and therefore the proportion of the effective area providedbyeach element is immaterial.

An. alternative method of securing the desired adjustment is illustratedin Fig. 14, in which the rotor member is'provided with a slot of flxeddepth, and the desired adjustment in the effective pumping action.issecured through the agency of a modified form of piston member 42'slidably disposed within asuitable notch 4| in a vane 8', said pistonmember being biased inwardly bymeans of a spring member 43" against asealing member 48 threadedly secured within a col actinglythreaded boresum the rotor body lb.

. eross-circulation of fluid within the slot as far inwardly as thesurface 50, and the sealing portion 480 of the member 48 is of adiameter equal to or greater than'the diameter of the slot, pre-'venting cross-circulation of fluid from. the surface 50 to the bottom ofthe slot. The operation of this form of the invention is entirelycomparahle-tothe form shown'in Fig. .13, the portion 01' the vane 8' andthe projecting portion of the member 42' between the outer edge of theslot 9 andthesurfacell ccnstitutingapistonhead which will force aportion of the fluid entrapped within the ends of the slot 9' outwardlyinto the adjacent t chamber through one of the respective openings 3!.Inward and outward adjustment of the member 48 will eflect acorresponding movement of the member 42' as between the positionsindicated, varyin the effective piston area between such values as areindicated at p; and p It will be appreciated that the member 48 actuallydefines the "bottom" or eifective inner limit of the slot 9, as far asthe size of the small pumping chambers is concerned, inasmuch as theportions of the slot inwardly of the position of the sealing surface itof the member 42' are' wholly without function.

The desired inward and outward adjustment of the member 4! mayadvantageously be secured by employing an odd number of vanes, flve, forexample, disposed as indicated at L, M, N, O, and .P in Fig. 15, andextending the threaded bore 49 diametrically through the rotor asindicated at L, M',-N', 0', and P In order to eifect axi adjustment ofthe position of the member 48 without necessitating a suitable opening49' may be provided'in the annulus l4 at one point in the peripherythereof, in alinement with the bore 49, and another suitable opening 49"maybeprovided in the casing 13' in alinement with the opening 4!. Theopening 4!" may be provided with a threadedplug member, not shown, whichmay be removed when it is desired to adjust the device,-the rotor beingrotated so that a particular bore 4! is in alinement with the bores49'and 49", a long-shanked screwdriver being inserted in the alinedopenings into engagement with a screw slot in the inner end of themember 44, for rotation of the member 48 in the direction which willprovide the desired adjustment. I

In the form of invention shown in Figs. 5, 6, and. 'Lthe capacityadjustment is secured through an inward and outward movement of thebottom of the slot 1 within which the vanes I reciprocate, through theagency of movable follower members Il' deflning the bottom or innersurfaces of arch slots and comprising sealing members corresponding infunction to the sealing members 48 above. The sealing follower membersll may be provided with sloping inner faces at the respective endsthereof, as at 52 and II, and suitable supporting or spacing means areprovided in engagement with such sloping portions in order to secure thedesired outward spacing of,the followers II with respect to the axisofrotationofthedcvice. Accordingtothispar- 'tlcular form of theinvention such spacing means is provided by two opposed spider elements54 threadedlymountedonarightandleft-handcoactingly threaded screw memberll mounted for rotation along the axis of the rotor member andpositioned against axial movement through the agency of a suitable lockscrew 56. The member SI preferably extends through a suitable amal bore81 in the shaft 2 in position for external access, as by means of ascrew-driver or the like which may be brought into engagement with ascrew slot 58 in the end of said member. In order to facilitateassembly, the rotor may be formed as three separate elementsintersecured through the agency of suitable bolt means, such as adriving shaft end 59, a rotor body portion 8| constituting the hubportion in and the prinauly of the device, a

' as at 94, for association of the device with a suitable countingelement or the like such as shown at 99 in Fig. l.

The form of device shown in Fig.9 iscomparabletothatshowninFigs.5to7,withthe exception that the followers99, corresponding in function tothe sealing ower .members If above, areprovided with an inner surface taper-f ing in one direction along theaxis of rotation of the device and an axially movable conical spacingmember 91, is provided in place of the spiders 94. The conical spacingmember I is conveniently mounted on an axially disposed pin member 99threadedly mounted within the shaft portion -99. This form of device mayalso be formed as three separate sections Ii, 12, and .19, therespective end members Ii and I9 being secured to the central or hub'member 12 through the agency of short screws extending inwardly fromeach end of the rotor asshown at 14.

The form of invention shown in Figs. :9 and 10 provides the inward andoutward spacing of the bottom of the slots 9 by means of sealingfollower members li slidably disposed for inward and outward movementwithin the slot 9 and provided-with inwardly directed pin membersadiacent the respective ends thereof as at 9! and II, the innerends ofwhich are in engagement withan'axially movable adjuament member 94provided with two conical adjustment surfaces 99 and 99 adapted tocnaagethe inner ends of said pins 92 and 99 to move the foilowersliin-- wardlyor outwardly upon axial movement of the member 94 such as may beattained by rotation of a threaded shaft, portion 91 threadedly disposedwithin the shaft In each of the forms described in Figs. 5 through 10the inward movement of the followers ill, 86, and Si is caused by thecompression springs 49 which bear inwardly against the sealing member 42which in turn bears inwardly against the outer edge or face of thefollower. It will be appreciated that where the device is to be used atexcessively high speeds it may be desirable to provide relatively strongspring structures at 49 in order to overcome or counterbalance thetendency for the sealing member and the follower member to moveoutwardly under the influence of the rotative motion thereof,

which may result in some cases in producing a' rather high outwardpressure of the vanes 9 follower member due to centrifugal action, I mayemploy a construction of the type shown in Figs.

- 11 and 12 in which a plurality of sealing or fol- 'drill presses, andany suitable means for securing the desired relative rotation of the hubportionaz with respect to themain-rotor body may be provided, as throughthe agency of a spur gear 92' secured to said hub 92 and adapted forengagement by a suitable removable key 94 which may extend through asuitable opening 99 in the hub member upon alinement thereof with asuitable opening 99 in an end wall to of the casing 9. A suitable plugmay be provided as shown -in dot-dash lines at 91 whereby the opening 96may be kept closed during operation of the device.

It will be appreciated that the amount of inward and outward adjustmentwhich is required for the regulation of the depth of a vane-carryingslot in the rotor is dependent wholly upon the particular operatingrequirements of the device. Where relatively narrow slots and vanes areemployed (as measured in a circumferential vdirection) it may benecessary to provide for a. relatively large inward and outwardadjustment of the bottom of the slots in order to obtain an adequatevariation inthe capacity of the device, and where relatively thick vanesand wide. slots are employed, it may only be necessary to provide aminor variation in the whole number of slots, or, as an alternative, a'major variation in but one of the slots. Similarly, a device providedwith four vanes, for example, may have three thin vanes and one thickvane, the bottoms of the slots carrying the thin vanes being fixed andthe bottom of the slot carrying the thick vane being adjustable K Ingeneral, where the device is to be employed purely as a metering means,there will be little difference in the inlet and outlet pressures, andthe only work which the device will have to perform is that ofovercoming the friction of the parts, including the associated countingelement; For this reason the parts may be made relatively light inconstruction. The device may advantageously be employed as a meteringpump, or the like, by appropriately increasing the strength of theparts, dependent upon the operating conditions to be encountered. Itwill be appreciated that the proportions of the parts shown areillustrative only, and while a rather heavy shaft and bearing structureis shown in Figs. 1 through 10 and 16, such a construction is necessaryonly where the device is to be employed as a metering pump, inasmuch aswhere the device is employed simply as a meter, the strength of theshaftneed be only such as to drive the associated countin or registeringmechanism. t

Whilethe invention as described is directed primarily to the rotarymachine as a whole, it will be appreciated that the construction of thehousing portion of the device is quite equivalent to the structuresdescribed and claimed in the above-mentioned patent and patentapplications, the principal differences in the present constructionresiding in the construction of the rotor member per se. Therotor'member is subject to sale as a separate unit, either alone or inassociation with appropriate vane members, and for this reason isseparately claimed herein.

Numerous modifications of the device, within the spirit andcontemplationiof the invention, will suggest themselves to those skilledin the art, and I do not choose to be restricted to the speciflc formsherein delineated and described, but rather to the scope of thesubioined claims. For example, I have herein shown and described but twoforms of piston member which may be employed to cooperate with thesealing member at the inner limit of the slots and seal the respectiveslots against cross-circulation of fluid, but it will be appreciatedthat any desired type .of piston means which will move along the slotwith the blade or vane member will have the desired pumping or pistonaction withinthe slot, and will serve to force fluid into and out of theadjacent displacement chambers.

As mentioned above, the present invention is adapted to incorporation instructures such as shown in United States Reissue Patent No. 19,783 toRoberts, dated December 3, 1935, and such an adaptation is shown in Fig.l6. Referring to.

opposite axial ends of the vanes to cause the same to persist inengagement with the cam surface, performing the function of the opposedcam member shown in the other forms of the device. a suitable radialextension I06 of the rotor I being provided against which the rearwardends of the springs I08 'may bear. Intercommunication of the rearwardends of each of the slots I06 is provided, in order to prevent ahydrostatic trap upon axial movement of the respective vanes. as bycutting'the rotor away adjacent the outer rearward edge thereof, asshown at IIO. A sealabove.

ing member III, corresponding in function and position to the sealingmembers 42 above, is provided for each of the vanes I06, in position tobear against the upper surface of a follower H2 which is adapted forradial movement inwardly and outwardly of the hub portion of the rbtorI04 through the agency of any suitable actuating means such as anaxially movable conical spacing member II3 corresponding in position andfunction to the member 61 shown in Fig. 8. A

, portions of the structure which are directed towards andaway from theaxis of the rotor member, respectively. In the specific delineationsof'structure herein made, such "inward and outward" portions of thedevice may be considered as radially inward and "radially outwardportions, but as brought out hereinbefore, it is not essential that thevanes, for example,

-' extend in 'a truly radial direction.

I claim: I 1. In a rotary machine of the laterally" sliding vane type,.a rotor construction which comprises:

a hub member provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced slotsextending transversely with respect to a plane of rotation of said rotorand each adapted to receive a vane member provided with an inwardlydirected piston member of the same eflfective width as said slot; aninwardly and outwardly movable sealing member disposed within one ofsaid slots and extending across the width thereof in position to engagethe inward edge of said piston member; and

In the particular form shown, the

means for positioning said sealing member with respect to its outwardposition within said slot.

2. A rotary machine which comprises: a housing provided with a rotorchamber having fluid inlet and fluid outlet'passages and an annularsealing and guiding surface; a rotor concentrically mounted within saidchamber and having a peripheral portion closely spaced from said annularsurface, and provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced slotsextending transversely with respect to a plane of rotation thereof; aplurality of laterally reciprocable vanes disposed within the respectiveslots, constrained to rotate with said rotor, and having their outwardedges in sealing engagement with said annular surface; a guiding andsealing cam member mounted on said housing at one axial side of saidrotor in position to engage the adjacent lateral ends of said vanes;means engaging'the opposite lateral ends of said vanes to maintain saidvanes in engagement with said guiding and sealing cam member, said cammember and said last-named means cooperating to effect lateralreciprocation of said vanes within said slots upon. rotation of saidrotor; a piston member extending within each of said slots adjacent theinner edge of the respective vane, said piston member being slidablymovable-with respect to said vane in a direction transverse to thedirection of lateral reciprocation of said vaneand constrained to move'with said vane during the reciprocating movement thereof; means biasingsaid piston member toward the bottom of said slot; means for varyingthe. efl'ective working area of said piston member and including sealingmeans adapted to engage the inwardlydirected surface of said pistonmember and limit the extent to which said piston member projectsinwardly of the respective slot and to cooperate with said piston memberto provide a seal across said slot and define a displacement chamber atthe end of said slot which is adjacent said cam member; and passagemeans establishing fluid communication between said displacement chamberand said rotor chamber at said one axial side of said rotor.

3. A rotary machine which comprises: a housing provided with a rotorchamber having fluid inlet and fluid outlet passages and an annularsealing and guiding surface; a rotor concentrically mounted within saidchamber and having a peripheral portion closely spaced from said annularsurface, and provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced slotsextending t'ransversely with respect to a plane of rotation thereof andin fluid communication with said chamber; a plurality of laterallyreciprocable vanes disposed within the respective slots, constrained torotate with said rotor, and having their outward edges in sealingengagement with said annular surface; two opposed guiding and sealingcam members mounted on said housing at the respective axial sides ofsaid rotor and adapted to engage the respective lateral ends of saidvanes and eiIect lateral reciprocation thereof upon roton member beingadapted to move with the re-" t spective vanes in the lateralreciprocation thereof and movable with respect to the respective vaneinwardly and outwardly of said slot; means biasing said piston memberinwardly of said slot;

and adjustable sealing means within said slot and extending outwardlyinto sealing engagement with the inner surface of saidpiston member forvarying the extent of penetration of said piston member inwardly of therespective slot.

4. A rotary machine which comprises: a housing provided with a rotorchamber having fluid inlet and fluid outlet passages and an annularsealing and guiding surface; a rotor concentrically mounted within saidchamber and having a 10 peripheral portion closely spaced from said an-15 a plurality of laterally reciprocable vanes disposed within therespective slots, constrained to rotate with said rotor, and havingtheir outward edges in sealing engagement with said annular surface;two'opposed guiding and sealing cam 20 members mounted on said housingat the respective axial sides of said rotor and adapted to engage therespective lateral ends of said vanes and effect lateral reciprocationthereof upon rotation of said rotor; an inwardly biased piston memberextending within each of said slots adjacent the inner edge of therespective vane and cooperating with said vaneiand the walls of saidslot to establish a fluid seal intermediate the ends of said slot, andconstrained to move with said i) respective vane during the lateralreciprocation thereof; and means for varying the depth of at least oneof said slots.

5. A rotary machine which comprises: a housing provided with a rotorchamber having fluid 35 inlet and fluid outlet passages and an annularsealing and guiding surface; a rotor concentrically mounted within saidchamber and having a peripheral portion closely spaced from said annularsurface, and provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced slotsextending: transversely with respect to a-plane of rotation thereof; aplurality of laterally reciprocable vanes disposed within the respectiveslots, constrained to rotate with said rotor, and having their out- 5ward edges in sealing-engagement with said annular surface; two opposedguiding and sealing cam members mounted on said housing at therespective axial; sides of said rotor and adapted to engage therespective lateral ends of said vanes and effect lateral reciprocationthereof upon rotation of said rotor; a piston member 'secured to each ofsaid vanes at the inner-edge thereof and extending within the respectiveslots at a position intermediate the ends thereof, said 55 vanes beingspaced from the bottom of the reing provided with a rotor chamberhavingufluid' spective slots at positions laterally removed from saidpiston members, and said piston members defining two separatedisplacement chambers within said slots; passage means providingfluid 60communication between said displacement chambers and said rotor chamberat ,the respective axial sides of said rotor; and means for'varying theeffective inward extension of at least oneof said piston members withinthe respective slots. 6. A rotary machine which comprises: a hous-Linlet and fluid outlet passages and an annular sealing and guidingsurface; a rotor concentrically mounted within said chamber and havinga'pe-.

70 ripheral portion closely spaced from said annular posed within therespective slots, constrained to rotate with said rotor, and havingtheir outward edges in sealing engagement with said annular surface; afollower member slidably disposed at the radially inward portion of atleast one of said slots, defining the bottom wall thereof and movableinwardly and outwardly therein to provide a variation in the effectivedepth thereof; adjustable spacing means cooperating with said followermember to position the same to establish said slot at the desired depth;a piston member extending within said one slot adjacent the inner edgeof 'the respective vane and constrained to move therewith, said pistoncooperating with said vane, the walls of said slot and said followermember to establish a fluid seal intermediate the ends of said slot; andtwo opposed guiding and sealing cam members mounted on said housing atthe respective axial sides of said rotor and adapted to engage therespective lateral'ends of said vanes and effect lateral reciprocationthereof upon rotation of said rotor.-' v

7. The device as set forth in claim 6, each of said slots being providedwith a follower member and a piston member, and said adjustable spacingmeans being adapted to engage each of said follower members foradjustment of the position the several follower members as a unit.

8. A rotary machine which comprises: a housing provided with a rotorchamber having fluid inlet and fluid outlet passages and an annularcally mounted, within said chamber and having a peripheral portionclosely spaced from said ber; a plurality of laterally reciprocablevanes v disposed within the respective slots, constrained to rotate withsaid rotor, and having their outward edges insealing engagement withsaid annular surface; cam means engaging the respective lateral endsofsaid vanes and adapted to effect lateral reciprocation thereof uponrotation of said rotor; a piston member securedto each of said vanes atthe inner edge thereof and constrained to lateral reciprocating movementwith said vanes, said sealing members extending within the respectiveslots at a position intermediate the ends thereof and-movable withreference to the respective vanes in a direction transverse to thelateral reciprocating movement of said vanes; means biasing said pistonmembers inwardly of the respective slots toward engagement with theinner surface of said slots; a sealing member extending within one ofsaid slots and in engagement with the inner edge of the correspondingpiston member, said sealing member cooperating vwith the walls of saidslot and the inner edge of said piston member to define two separatedisplacement chambers within said slot at the respective ends of saidslot, and said sealing member being adapted for movement inwardly andoutwardly of said slot to determine the extent to which said pistonmember extends within said slot; and passage means providing fluidcommunication between said displacement chambers and said rotor chamber.Y

9. A rotary machine which comprises: a housing provided with a rotorchamber having fluid inlet and fluid-outlet passages and an annularsealing and guiding surface; a vrotor concentrically mounted within saidchamber and having a peripheral portion closely spaced from said annularsurface, and provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced slotsextending transversely with respect to a plane of rotation thereof Y aplurality of laterally reciprocable vanes disposed 6 within therespective slots, constrained to rotate with said rotor, and havingtheir outward edges in sealing engagement with said annular surface;

a guiding and sealing cam member mounted on said housing at one axialside of said rotor in 10 position to engage the adjacent lateral ends ofsaid vanes; ,means engaging the opposite lateral ends of said vanes tomaintain said vanes in en- Easement with said guiding and sealing cammember, said cam member and said last-named means cooperating to eifectlateral reciprocation of said vanes within said slots upon rotation ofsaid rotor; -a piston member extending within each of said slotsadjacent the inner edge of the respective vane, said piston member beingslidably movable with respect to said vane in a direction transversetothe direction of lateral reciprocation of said vane and constrained tomove with said vane during the reciprocating movement thereof; meansbiasing said piston member toward the bottom of said slot; means forvarying the effective working area of said piston member and includingsealing means adapted to engage the inwardly directed surface of saidpiston member and limit the extent to I 80 which said piston memberprojects inwardly of the respective slot and to cooperate with saidpiston member to provide a seal across said slot and define a.displacement chamber at the end of said slot which is adjacent said cammember,

said slots being open to communication with one another at the side ofsaid piston member away from said cam member; and passage meansestablishing fluid communication between said displacement chamber andsaid rotor chamber 40 at said one axial side of said'rotor.

o plurality of laterally reciprocable vanes disposed within therespective slots, constrained to rotate with said rotor, and havingtheir outward-edges in sealing engagement with said annular surface;

means cooperating to effect lateral reciprocation of said vanes withinsaid slots upon rotation of said rotor; a piston member extending withineach of said slots adjacent the inner edge of the respective vane, saidpiston member being slidably movable with respect to said vane in adirection transverse to the direction of lateral reciprocation of saidvane and constrained to move with said vane during the reciprocatingmovement thereof; means biasing said piston member toward the bottom ofsaid slot; sealing means adapted to engage the inwardly directed surfaceof said piston member to cooperate with said piston member to provide aseal across said slot and define a displacement chamber at the endofsaid slot which is adjacent said cam member, said slots being open tocommunication with one another at the side of said piston member awayfrom said cam member; and passage means establishing fluid communicationbetween said displacement chamber and said rotor chamber at said oneaxial side of said rotor.

11. A rotor for use in a rotary machine of'the sliding vane type, whichcomprises: a hub member provided with a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced slots extending transversely with respect to a plane of rotationof-said rotor and each adapted to receive a vane member provided with aninwardly directed-piston member having an efiective width in a.circumferential direction equal to the width of said slot; an inwardly.and outwardly movable sealing member disposed within one of said slots,extending across the. width thereof in sealing relation to the sidewalls of said slot, and in position to engage the inward edge of saidpiston member; and means for positioning said sealing member withrespect to its outward position within said slot.

12. The construction set.forth in claim 11, in which a sealing member isprovided in each of said plurality of slots, and in which said lastnamedmeans comprises means for coincidentally positioning all of said sealingmembers as a unit.

ROBERT T. KNAPP.

